


Let's Just Talk

by Ember360



Series: Paxamare Farm [1]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Fluff, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22904449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember360/pseuds/Ember360
Summary: Emily and Shane have a chat on a rainy night.
Relationships: Emily & Shane (Stardew Valley)
Series: Paxamare Farm [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1646338
Kudos: 17





	Let's Just Talk

Emily and Shane had a usual routine with one another. Every Wednesday, when the saloon wasn't full and the work week was still droning on, she should check in on him, just to make sure that he was alright. Emily wasn't sure if Shane was completely aware of her intent but he seemed to know that Wednesday was their day to talk together. Of course, it wasn't as if they had a rule saying they couldn't chat on other days, and they definitely did so! But it was nice, for the both of them, to know when someone was going to come up to you specifically; a comforting practice between the two of them, a break from the unpredictably of life. 

But today wasn't a Wednesday. It was a Saturday instead, and a gloomy one as well. Rain pattered on the roof of the saloon, and Emily tapped her foot lightly to the rhythm of it. The door of Gus' establishment creaked open, allowing a chill wind and a soaking man inside. Shane had a disgruntled look on his face, wiping his boots on the "Welcome" mat as he stepped inside. His faded Joja jacket sagged with the weight of the water it had absorbed (it was cheaply made afterall) and his matted hair had been turned black by the rains. 

"My, Shane, it seems you've had the whole ocean dumped on top of you!" exclaimed Emily. Shane grumbled and sat in front of her at the bar. She reached behind herself, grabbing a white cloth on a higher shelf. "Here," she said, handing the rag to Shane. "Its not much, but it should at least dry off your face!"

Shane accepted the rag with a grateful expression, dragging it across his face. "Thanks, Lee. I wouldn't be quite as drenched if people would just mine their own goddam business but whatever, I guess." Emily gave Shane a concerned expression as he began to ramble. "But, oh sure! Go ahead, stop me in the rain! Talk about how much you like getting soaked! Be my guest!" He finally stopped with a sigh. 

"Sounds like someone is getting on your bad side," Emily commented. Usually at this time she would ask a customer if they wanted something to drink, but with Shane she realized it was maybe best to not encourage his habit- as much as she could, being a barkeep and all. 

Shane sighed again and shrugged. "Nooo, it's just... sometimes people don't get that you don't want to talk and it's annoying. I don't hate her, she's actually not terrible, I just wish she'd leave me alone, for like, a minute."

"Who's 'she'?" Emily asked. She glanced towards the other custumors. She saw Pam raise her hand grogily in her direction and Emily moved to get her other ale.

"One of the new farmers," Shane said, leaning against the back of his chair. "Hey, get me one too if you don't mind. The usual." 

Emily nodded and slid Pam's drink over towards her. She then handed Shane his own; a beer as per usual. "Which one? Em?" Emily had only really gotten to know the most sociable of the four new farmers, all who seemed to have appeared overnight. They had bonded over the coincidence of their names and their similar lifestyles. It was nice, getting to meet new people, something fairly difficult in a small town. She hoped to befriend the others as well. 

"No, not her. Cambria. Short brown hair, shiny brown eyes, wears that skeleton shirt a lot, sort of an ass but in a lovable kind of way," Shane took a swig from his drink, ending his description of the farmer. Emily nodded as she listened to him describe her, soon realizing who he was talking about. 

"Oh! Oh yeah, I know her! She always comes in here to get you drinks while you're at work, doesn't she?" Emily liked Cambria, from the few times they had talked. She was direct, only stopping by for short periods of time but from what she could tell, Shane's description was pretty good. Except maybe the ass part, but then again, Emily was a lot more forgiving than Shane.

Shane laughed. "Yeah... I don't think she understands that you're not really supposed to be drunk while you're working. One of these days she's gonna get me fired because of it, I swear." Shane took another drink from his mug than shifted his position, leaning against the bar, one hand over his mouth. 

"They're all very curious, those farmers. The other day I heard one of them talking about how all birds are plotting murder," Emily said with a laugh. Shane snorted in amusement and Emily took out another rag and began to wipe the counter aimlessly. "Have you met any of the others?" 

"Yeah, they all kind of stopped to say hello on the day they arrived. The blonde one... En?"

"Em," Emily corrected politely. Curious, how flawlessly Shane had described Cambria despite not even knowing the other's names properly. 

"Right, Em. She's talked to me a few times, but not the way Cambria does. We just kind of run into eachother, say hello then goodbye. We had a conversation, like, once but I forgot what it was about," Shane's fingertip traces the lip of his mug mindlessly. "She's nice. The dark-haired girl is kind of weird and I don't think the other one likes me very much. Good reason to, I guess." 

Emily frowned. Shane definitely had a lot of walls built up. Sometimes she worried that he would trap himself inside them, unable to escape the rules he had set for himself, even when he wanted to. But, yet again, it simply wasn’t her place to decide that for him. 

“I wouldn’t say that there's any real reason to dislike you,” Emily offered. “Sure, you’re a little rough around the edges at times but you’re a sweet guy, Shane.” She lay the rag the counter, giving Shane a sympathetic look.

Shane shrugged. "Eh. I disagree." With one last gulp, his mug of beer was drained. "But sure. Thanks, Lee." With that, he handed his cup back to Emily and she went to refill it. As her back was turned, she heard a chime at the door, signaling that another person had entered the bar. 

"Its raining!" stated Em, closing the door behind her. Her wide, neatly woven straw hat dripped water onto the floor and her jean pinafore dress was a darker color than it was while on a sunny day. 

"We noticed," commented Shane. He was a bit more grumpy, after having drunk a bit. Emily reluctantly handed him another and he took it in his hands. 

Em walked over towards the bar, sitting down next to Shane (a bit to his dismay). "Oh, yeah right. Shane, right?" Shane nodded, signifying that she'd gotten his name right. Em did a little fist pump. "Yes! Um, how are ya'll doing today?" 

"Same as usual." Shane sloshed his drink around a bit, staring intently into the sickly brown liquid. Emily frowned a bit. Again, her concerns about his emotional walls rose.

"I'm doing fine, thank you," Emily turned her attention back to Em. "I meditated this mourning for thirty more minutes than usual, actually. I think I need some more topaz, to be honest. My third eye has been off a little." Em nodded, listening to Emily intently. 

"Topaz is my birthstone," Em said eagerly. "What color do you want? I could try and get you some next time I go down into the mines." 

Emily did a little hop and clapped her hands. "Really?! Oh, thank you! Yellow is what I need!" 

"My favorite color is yellow!" Em grinned. Shane coughed, a bit too loudly for it be genuine. The two women turned their attention towards him and he blinked; he hadn't expected them to pay any mind to him.

"I uh... think I might head out now," Shane said. Emily glanced between him and Em. She supposed she was alienating him a bit. She could always talk to Em about crystals and chakras later, of course. She was one of the daily customers at the Stardrop Saloon, so it should be easy enough. Well, customer was a bit of a stretch, considering she never really bought anything to drink. Emily had assumed she just liked to chat. 

"Oh, um, sorry, I suppose I sort of hijacked your guys' conversation," Em fiddled with her pigtails a bit, a nervous habit. "I have to go, um, feed my... plants. Now. Bye!" and with that she stood up from the bar, waving goodbye to her friends. "Nice chatting with you!" 

Emily waved back to Em and wished her a safe trip home. Shane was finished with his second drink by this time. "I messed up," he commented, running his fingers through his hair, leaning against the counter on his elbows. "All she wanted was to say hello and I pushed her away." 

Emily opened her mouth to say something then closed it. She thought for moment. Should she reassure him in the practices she knew would harm him? Or should she make him feel worse by reaffirming his self depreciating comment? "Cambria or Em?" she asked finally, a safe approach. 

"Everyone?" Shane looked up at Emily, and began to laugh. "Whatever. I don't care," he grumbled, tapping his mug, silently signaling that he wanted another. But Emily didn't get him one. 

"I think you do care," Emily leaned against the counter, making eye-contact with Shane. "I think you do care about people, and even yourself, deep down. And one day you're going to look back on all of this and you're going to smile at how far you've come, Shane. You have people who care and people who want to help you help yourself, okay?" Emily's eyes stared intently at Shane's, determination sparking within them. 

Shane sat in silence for a bit, unsure what to make of what Emily had said. Emily worried that maybe she had gone to far, but she was resolute. She had meant every word she had said to him and she wouldn't back out now. "Sure," Shane said with a nod. "Sounds great," he laughed again, sadly. "Can we change subjects? This inspirational shit is making my head spin. Or maybe its the alcohol. I don't know, probably a mix?" 

Emily sighed. "Alright. Um, lets see... chicken stories? How's Charlie doing?" It was her go-to with making light conversation with Shane. Probably his least harmful pastime, looking after the chickens on Marnie's ranch, and therefore Emily encouraged it dutifully. Shane and Emily had actually become friends due to their shared love of animals. 

Shane nodded as Emily picked up his cup and filled it again. One last time. Gus had a limit on the amount of drinks someone could buy in a night, and as a concerned friend, Emily appreciated that. "Yeah, I do. Uhhhh Charlie, Charlie. He found a mate, actually, uh, Beth. She's a nice chicken. They're all nice chicken." 

Emily raised her eyebrows a bit at Shane's drunken grammer, an amused smile across her face as she finished pouring the drink. "I see. Do you think they're soulmates?" 

Shane looked up at Emily with a sort of amused expression, taking the drink as she handed it to him. "Hell yeah, I guess so," he moved his mug in the air, mimicking the movements of a toast. Some of the suds from the beer spilled onto the table and Emily quickly wiped it up as Shane drank, not wanting him to see the spill and feel bad for it. Shane set the mug on the counter quickly, blinking his eyes. He looked up at Emily. "What's the clock, Lee?" 

"Its 11:30," Emily answered, looking up at the clock, an owl-shaped little thing. She turned back to Shane, who was chugging his drink like it was the end of the world. "Hey, slow down you're going to hurt yourself there." 

Shane just shook his head and set down the mug, which was now empty. He burped and wiped his face his sleeve. "I'm going," he stated simply, standing up from the bar. Emily reflexively moved to steady him, but he wasn't drunk enough to topple over just yet. He waved her off and headed the door. 

"Hey Shane?" Emily called out behind him. Shane stopped in the doorway, looking back at her, eyebrows raised. 

"Stay safe, dear." 

Shane chuckled. "I'll think about it." And then he walked out, leaving Emily behind.


End file.
